Life is Cruel, but not as cruel as bicycle racing (or training).

My training plan calls for three weeks of hard training and then one week off and this was to be my third week on hard training. Next week, I will be visiting friends in Hood River and will take it easy.

My plan for today was to climb Marys Peak three times. I was hoping for 9,000 feet of elevation gain in 60 miles or so. After checking the weather forecast the evening before (no rain!), I packed my bags with lots of mild weather clothing. The morning lows were to be in the low 40s and highs approaching the 50s. It has been years since I have trained on Marys peak and I was really looking forward to the climbs.

I woke up on time and got our of the house before 7:00 am. I arrived at the junction of Hwy 35 and Marys Peak road by 8:30. I was climbing before 9:00 am. Life is good.

The Marys Peak hill climb hits your early. Starting from the parking lot 1,500 feet, you soon see sustained inclines of 10% and greater. The road climbs through a forest so you are protected from the wind, and in my case, the fog/clouds. However, at 2,500 feet I climbed above the clouds and rode through patches of sunlight. After 3 1/2 miles, you come to a one mile descent and you think ugly thoughts as your give up your hard fought elevation. You now climb just over five miles up to the top with just a few rollers as you approach the top to just short of 4,000 feet.

Along the way I saw frost and snow on the road, but the top was snow-free and the view unspectacular. Life is good.

I quickly turned around and start down the hill toward the parking lot and my van filled with refreshments. But I soon discovered one small problem – it was cold up there! I foolishly failed to dress for the descent and the wind chill was difficult to bear. I found myself braking to keep my speed down. Life was beginning to look not so good.

Then “Ping”, I heard the sound of the spoke breaking and my rear wheel was no longer stable. I stopped and confirmed the problem and realized my ride was done for the day. I wrapped the broken spoke around a good spoke so it would not fail about. I open the rear brakes and spun the wheel. I was so out of true that the rim hit the brake pads even when the brakes were fully opened. I began the very descent back to the van.

This proved to be very painful. I was now keeping my speed down to eight miles per hour. Soon, my fingers started complaining about the constance braking. Then to make matters worst, I descended back into the clouds and it really began to get cold. Life is now definitely cruel.

So, when the first car came down the hill behind me, I stopped it and asked for a ride down the rest of the way to my van. I left my Colnago in the bushes to be picked up once I had my van.

Distance: 17.83 miles
Elevation gain: 3084 feet
Average Watts while climbing: 199 watts